After extensive research (time on Twitter) and deep study (that insomnia period between 2 and 4AM), I have compiled a list of the most common mistakes made by individuals on social media. I feel I should cite my sources so here goes: Linda. (Man, citations are a royal pain, aren't they??)

Now, sure, we're not all on social media for the same reasons. Some are here to network, to increase influence by building and engaging with people. Some are here for shenanigans. Sometimes these two groups behave differently, and that's OK. That's what makes it interesting and fun. Occasionally, the rules for all are the same, regardless of why we're here.

Don't cry, Sally. I'll make this as painless as possible.

1. No profile picture or, even worse, a horrible profile picture:

Your profile is part of your online identity. It's a key component to how people connect to you virtually. Now, I get it - we can't all be beauty queens like Sally here. But, girl, work that selfie! Show your smile, your personality, your quirk. Problem with a double-chin? Don't worry - I have an angle!

Shenanigans people: so you want to remain anonymous, huh? We're OK with that. Find something that speaks to who you are, even if it's not your face. Find a cartoon character or a brand or an item. One of my favorite Twitter people uses a drawing of her made by her toddler. Another friend uses Yosemite Sam. Your favorite wine label. A killer high-heel shoe. There is something out there you can find to help people make a visual connection, even if it's not with your adorable face. And Brandon?? Um, no. Not that. Please. I'm sure yours is lovely - I don't need to see it.

2. Profile empty or incomplete:

After the visual connection of a picture, the content of your profile is the next most important thing. Whether it's LinkedIn or Twitter or Jive - tell people what you're there for, give them a reason to connect with you.

Shenanigans people: same deal, dawg. Make it edgy or funny or sweet. Just don't make it mundane. Anything but mundane. Most importantly, be original.

3. Locked-down privacy:

If you've chosen to engage on social media, you have to give 'em something. If you are so locked down nobody can see anything, you are sending a "No Trespassers" sign to those who may want to connect. Perhaps that's your intent - far be it from me to judge. To me, it's kind of like going to church and when someone reaches out for the 'Peace be with you' handshake, you turn wearing a sign that says "I'm not here for the interaction." Put out a little bit of a welcome mat if you're coming to the party.

Shenanigans people: let me in! Sometimes it's the tightest locked accounts that have all the good stuff! You are the back room at the club where one has to be tapped on the shoulder and invited to get through the green door. You make us all curious, and a little nervous. Keep it up!

4. Taking without giving:

Social media is built on a system of give-and-take. Sure, that big account doesn't give you the time of day, even though your mama thinks you are a brilliant, shiny, unique snowflake. But that doesn't mean he or she doesn't pay into the system. Don't worry about him - worry about yourself. Didn't your mama ever teach you that? If he jumped off a bridge... well, never mind. If you're a taker - there to pimp out your content only without ever giving back to somebody - eventually people will be turned off by that. I like using a rule-of-three. For every 1 thing I push out, I take time to appreciate at least 3 things pushed out by others. Or maybe 10. Sometimes 20 or 30. I like to give! It makes me feel less needy and greedy.

Shenanigans people: you're attention whores - just accept it, make peace with it, and let your freak flags fly. Just kidding - this rule applies to you, too. Give more than you take. Good rule for humanity in general.

5. Over-reliance on the Like:

Yeah, we all use the Like a lot. It's important - don't get me wrong. It says "I was here." It might say "I agree." Or maybe just "I saw this." and, go figure, sometimes it even means "I like what you shared." But what if the world devolved into a place where all people gave was Likes? IT'S NOT ENOUGH! We all want the interaction, the conversation, the discussion, the debate. Occasionally take time to engage beyond just the Like. Occasionally leave a comment or ask a question.

Shenanigans people: you're there for the feel-good whoosh of attention and interaction. A Like isn't enough for you - you want that deeply felt LOL or contemplative Haha. It means something, man. A Like is one click. An LOL is only 3. Won't you give 3 clicks to make an under-appreciated sit-down comedian feel better about himself? You can make a difference! Please give. (You read that while picturing Sally Struthers wiping a tear away, didn't you? I hope so because that's what I intended. CAN I GET A HA-HA?? This level of comedy doesn't come for free, you know. Time to pay the piper!)

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Social media is personal - do it your way. But make sure you are sending the signals you intend to be sending and behaving in such a way that is consistent with what you wish to get out of it. If you want the connections and interaction, then perhaps one of these tips will make you think differently about your profile or what you give in to the system.

But hey - if you're an enigma, a fiercely private person, anti-social... well, maybe consider one of these for your profile picture:

A lot of people are familiar with Reddit's "Ask Me Anything" forums, where some of the world's most fascinating people will take on any question from passionate fans. While we at Jive might not be able to land Joan Jett or President Obama (yet), our community members have integrated the AMA concept into the Jive platform to showcase their amazing executives. This type of outreach connects corporate leaders with their employees, and creates top notch content to showcase broad thinking throughout the entire company.

Disclaimer: I'm NOT a security expert; however, for the last month, I've been geeking out about the topic. Personally, the term "security" drums up the same level of excitement "social" did in 2006.

As you may have seen in my post From Google to Gaga: The Top 9 Takeaways from SXSW 2014, the biggest breakthrough in tech this year wasn’t a new startup. It was the subject of privacy. It started when Wikileaks founder Julian Assange Skped from an Ecuadorian embassy in London with more than 3,500 conference attendees. At first, it seemed like a scene from a sci-fi movie with rhetoric from the latest conspiracy theorists.

But then, Assange began sharing his point-of-view on the “military occupation of the Internet” and the ability for a few technology companies to capture massive amounts of information, creating a “surveillance nightmare.” I left the session wanting to setup a Zuck vs. Assange debate and questioning the “share, share, share” mantra I’ve been preaching since I took my first social job in 2006.

I continued to explore this topic. I went to sessions about Secret, a new app that allows users to “speak freely;” Darknet, a new kind of Internet where people can conceal their online behavior; and BitCoin, which enables anonymous payments using peer-to-peer technology to operate with no central authority or bank.

I started having flashbacks of my childhood, when I spent hours in Prodigy chatrooms creating fictional characters. I began to worry that as a technology community were going backwards.

Then, I came to realization that it’s about contextual privacy. In our world of “connected things,” sensors are prolific. They collect data about everything from location to heart rate. While I can’t help but geek out about the opportunity to use these new technologies, I must now UNDERSTAND what, when, where and why my information is being collected, analyzed, and shared. As a good corporate marketer, I’m also on the mission to balance organizational needs with consumer desires.

Additionally, she noted that contextual privacy addresses five questions:

Temporal: When can I collect info about and when can I use it?

Spatial: Where can I use data about you?

Functional: How can I collect and use data about you?

Identity: What persona are you when I interact with you?

Social: With whom can I share information about you?

Before I grant another app access to my Facebook page, I want to answer the questions above about the service.

Finally, in one of the highest attended sessions, Edward Snowden, who is famous for disclosing thousands of classified documents that revealed the operational details of global surveillance programs run by key governments, called on the technology community to build products that protect the right to privacy through the use of strong encryption technology.

I'm excited and proud to work for a social technology company that truly values user security and data. Millions of users across the private and public sectors depend on Jive every day to keep their information safe and drive mission-critical business processes. That’s why we’ve taken a no-compromises approach to security, privacy and availability that combines best-of-breed technology, a highly trained and experienced staff, adherence to the strictest standards in the industry, and the flexibility to meet diverse requirements.

I know most of you reading that title are saying, "Duh;" however, it's an important reminder.

As someone who has managed corporate social media channels for the last NINE years (yes, I started with a corporate MySpace page), I often get wrapped up in the business goals and numbers surrounding social:

* How many fans and followers do we have?

* How many net new names are we getting from our efforts?

* How many clicks to the website did social deliver?

While all of those are important, I got an email today that made me sit back and reflect. First I thought, "Why am I getting an email? Everyone should message me in the community." Then, I put my Gia Lyons-esque rant aside and got excited. The simple note made me remember why I created my first social marketing program in 2006. I wanted to have a true connection in real-time with my audience.

You see, I started off in Public Relations. I graduated with a B.S. in P.R. No joke! Then, I spent years ghostwriting for state and local politicians, phone pitching the media on behalf of companies like HP, and leading crisis communications drills for large energy companies. While all of these things were exciting, I wanted a more direct relationship with the "public." The emerging social channels gave me that.

The social media landscape, however, changed in the last few years.

There are only a few key social media sites, which are driven by data collection and ad dollars.

There is more noise, spam, and negativity posted than ever before.

There are a 8,224,925 people claiming to be social media experts on LinkedIn (myself included).

Why do I bring this up? Because I want Jive customers and employees to remember the best parts of being a company that "gets" social marketing. We have to use social to build connections with customers, partners, employees, and prospects; share interesting information; and just be f'in cool. We also have to know that the social world is complex and sometimes nothing beats a face-to-face meetup.

So, I want to thank the folks internally at Jive and Rona Fouche at PWC for sharing the note below. It made my day.

There was a power outage in the Phoenix Data Center and Rona Fouche from PwC said she first heard about it on Facebook by following Jive.

IMHO, social marketing is about truly about sharing the right information to the right people at the right time!

How have you seen social marketing evolve? Share your story in the comments below.

Gamification 201, our second webcast in our three-part series, is now in the books. If you missed it, don’t fear… you can catch the on-demand versionhere.

The webcast featured Community Managers from Hitachi Data Systems (Donna Garber and Nick Gable) and SolarWinds (Michael Torok) and was moderated by 7Summits (James Davidson). The community managers shared their unique stories on how Gamification was implemented in each of their communities and how it continues to play a critical role in the success of their external communities.

As Gamification 201 comes to a close, don’t forget what James Davidson mentioned in his opening of the webcast:

"Gamification should be a key part of your implementation."

"It should not be an afterthought and needs to be planned, managed, measured and adjusted as your company matures."

According to Gartner:

More than 70% of the world’s largest 2,000 companies are expected to have deployed at least one gamified application by year-end 2014.

However, Gartner also predicts that:

By 2014, 80% of current gamified applications will fail to meet business objectives.

So, continue to learn on ways Gamification can help you meet your strategic community goals.

Finally, I want to thank our speakers and audience members who made Gamification 201 such an outstanding webcast.

In the webcast, Kim will discuss how Gamification can help advance your social business strategy, more specifically:

What is Gamification and why it is essential in today's real-time environment

Five ways to advance your internal and external social strategy using Gamification

Examples of how brands use Gamification to drive and optimize desired action

Kim is an award-winning social media thought leader that specializes on social trends, challenges, and best practices that help marketers create social strategies and tactics that deliver value to their prospects and customers. Her research covers B2B and B2C marketing, with a specific emphasis on the use of social marketing platforms and online communities that shape exploration and buying behaviors.

Don’t miss out on this chance to learn from this award winning thought leader!